The Democratic nominee for Tennessee governor wants to electrocute incumbent Bill Haslam


Politics are weird.
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Haslam easily locked up a Republican party nomination in his quest for a second term, winning more than 88 percent of the primary vote.
His Democratic challenger on the November ballot, though?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That appears to be an Oakdale resident named Charles V. "Charlie" Brown, who likely benefited from his famous name and top-billing on the Democratic ballot. The Tennessean reported that Brown defeated three other challengers for the Democratic nomination.
Brown is a unique sort of politician. He has reported raising a grand total of zero dollars for his campaign through this week's primary election. He has ignored all interview requests so far. And his Facebook page announcing the campaign misspells his first name as "Chrles." Oh, he would also like to electrocute Bill Haslam.
The Washington Post obtained a screenshot of the "Letter to the Editor" that Brown submitted to the Blount County Democratic Party instead of the usual candidate questionnaire. It's worth a full read, for sure, but Brown's first two sentences set the tone:
"I under stand that the governor has reinstated the electric chair to take care of the prison on death row," Brown's letter reads. "After what he has done to my friends in Knox County, I would like to strap his butt to the chair and give him about half the jolt."
Democrats can rest assured that Brown seems to be a measured sort of man, settling for half the jolt. This will be one to watch come November.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
-
How to create a healthy 'germier' home
Under The Radar Exposure to a broad range of microbes can enhance our immune system, especially during childhood
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media